Bachem acquires American Peptide Company

Bachem, a Switzerland-headquartered manufacturer of peptides, is to purchase American Peptide Company, based in California, US, for an undisclosed sum, strengthening its position in the US.

The seller, Initiative for Life Sciences (ILS), of Moriya, Japan, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Otsuka Chemical Co, and the buyer, Bachem Americas, based in Torrance, US, have signed a contract to transfer all shares of American Peptide Company.

American Peptide Company, a direct competitor of Bachem, provides a range of services from a small-scale catalogue business and custom synthesis to large-scale manufacturing under cGMP. The company runs two sites at Sunnyvale and Vista, California, and employs 86 people.

'The acquisition of APC is an important step in further enhancing the global leadership of Bachem in peptides,' said Dr Thomas Früh, CEO of the Bachem Group.

'It strengthens our position in the US, the world's largest peptides market, and provides immediate access to additional large-scale production capacity for our worldwide growing project portfolio. Furthermore, we consolidate our position in the highly demanding Japanese market. The profile of both companies fits extremely well and I am sure that customers as well as employees of APC will benefit from and appreciate the combined strengths of both companies.'

Takahiro Ogata, President of ILS, added: 'It is a great opportunity for American Peptide Company to join the leader in the peptide field.

'We are particularly enthusiastic to extend our partnership with Bachem. They are a highly reliable source of research grade peptides from catalogue and custom synthesis as well as cGMP manufactured large scale peptides. Based on this collaboration, ILS can offer the largest selection of research grade peptides and APIs in Japan, and access a broad portfolio for its customers.'